I had the PRS 505, but when it developed a technical problem (USB transfers stopped working), I got a refund, added a bit to it, and purchased the PRS 700. What a disappointment. For the sake of a touchscreen, the PRS 700 has sacrificed so much clarity that the text is almost unreadable, at least for me. It was like trying to read through a milky fog. As much as I wanted to stay "loyal" to Sony, I just sent the 700 back and jumped the fence and ordered the Kindle 2, which I have heard/read has nice sharp text.

You have heard wrong. I owned a K2 and sent it back because it has gray text on a gray background. Is it unreadable? Of course not. Some even like it, but HUNDREDS have sent their back, yours truly being one of them, for the simple reason that the contrast between the text and the background is so slight that it is not comfortable reading in anything but a bright room. I constantly found myself squirming, readjusting to find that perfect angle of lighting. Irritating as hell. I ended up standing next to a window just to read. Hated it. Sent it back two weeks ago and got a refund. Think you should have stuck with the 505 and just got it replaced imo.

No doubt many will chime in about how the K2 is not that bad, but only you seeing it will prove if it works for you. All I know is there is a petition out there signed by hundreds asking Amazon to fix the contrast problem. It will never be fixed til K3 I'm sure. It is a shame too cuz the K2 has some nice features. Personally, I don't think hardware-wise it is half of what the 505 is. Too much plastic, bezel is too big around the screen making it much bigger than it really needs to be, the next page button makes an audible click sound every page turn. Hate those things, but their software and whispernet can't be beat.

But for me it was about one thing-readability. Like the 700 I can't read for long on the K2. Just not comfortable at all.

I had the PRS 505, but when it developed a technical problem (USB transfers stopped working), I got a refund, added a bit to it, and purchased the PRS 700. What a disappointment. For the sake of a touchscreen, the PRS 700 has sacrificed so much clarity that the text is almost unreadable, at least for me. It was like trying to read through a milky fog. As much as I wanted to stay "loyal" to Sony, I just sent the 700 back and jumped the fence and ordered the Kindle 2, which I have heard/read has nice sharp text.

Your loyalty is suspect, since you could have returned the PRS700 for another PRS505.

I am most-certainly someone who liked the Sony, and felt enough loyalty to it to come up with the idea for the popular Bookit plugin for PRS users.

I liked the PRS 505 a lot, but there were features I wished for. I bought the 700, but as I said, it was an awful thing to try and read on.

The K2 is easily clearer and sharper than then 700, and for clarity and contrast, is about on about par with the Sony 505. The K2 has the next-generation reader features I had been hoping for, with the exception of the touchscreen. I especially like the very fast built-in dictionary and use it constantly, I like the faster page-turns (than the 505,) and also really appreciate being able to access Wikipedia when I want even more detail on a word or concept. The web browsing is great for pulling down public domain books, all free, no-fee, without having to transfer them over from a computer. In short, I don't regret the switch.

You have heard wrong. I owned a K2 and sent it back because it has gray text on a gray background. Is it unreadable? Of course not. Some even like it, but HUNDREDS have sent their back, yours truly being one of them, for the simple reason that the contrast between the text and the background is so slight that it is not comfortable reading in anything but a bright room. I constantly found myself squirming, readjusting to find that perfect angle of lighting. Irritating as hell. I ended up standing next to a window just to read. Hated it. Sent it back two weeks ago and got a refund. Think you should have stuck with the 505 and just got it replaced imo.

No doubt many will chime in about how the K2 is not that bad, but only you seeing it will prove if it works for you. All I know is there is a petition out there signed by hundreds asking Amazon to fix the contrast problem. It will never be fixed til K3 I'm sure. It is a shame too cuz the K2 has some nice features. Personally, I don't think hardware-wise it is half of what the 505 is. Too much plastic, bezel is too big around the screen making it much bigger than it really needs to be, the next page button makes an audible click sound every page turn. Hate those things, but their software and whispernet can't be beat.

But for me it was about one thing-readability. Like the 700 I can't read for long on the K2. Just not comfortable at all.

I'd say the Kindle 2 and the Sony 505 are really "a horse apiece" when it comes to clarity and contrast. I have no more (and no less) trouble reading on the Kindle 2 than I did on the Sony 505, though it should be pointed out the Kindle gives you more choices of font size which helps the cause.

By far the most exciting feature for me, on the Kindle 2, is its instant word look-up feature. Especially when reading the classics, I find myself in need of a dictionary every few pages, to learn the meaning of an old English word. I use the little joybutton to move the cursor to the word, and the definition instantly appears at the bottom of the screen. Thank you thank you...I LOVE that! :-)

Biggest down side so far for me is that the Kindle doesn't come with a cover, and I can't imagine not having one to protect it...so that's an extra $30 or more spent. I DO like the way the cover attaches though...it's much more secure than the little tabs that hold the cover on the 505.